LeighMo's bit of heaven (or hell)

Seems the last two weeks of resume sending, job apping, and submitting my 'professional' gmail account to spam-bots has not been in vain. I had an interview today (it went well, I should make it into round 2 next week. Why? Because I stated that I like to know what I am supposed to do, and be left alone to do it. Apparently, that is a quality in short supply these days.), one tomorrow, and am seemingly in negotiations with a coffee shop owner to work there.

Hurrah! Being that I have OCD and like to make scenarios in my head (which don't always pan out), I think its going to go down something like this:

1. I work at 7-11 (interview tomorrow) until I hear from THE GOOD JOB that I interviewed at next week. I put in a week of minimum wage, alcohol, tobacco, and lottery ticket peddling, then leave the poor overworked manager hanging high and dry when the full time, admin. assistant position (who liked that I like to work without a babysitter) calls me.

OR

2. I work 2 part time jobs, the 7-11 AND the coffee shop, until the coffee shop realizes that I am indeed an artiste with the espresso, and just lets me work all day, everyday, and eventually sells the shop to me. (Okay, that is a bit of a stretch).

OR

3. The GOOD JOB wants me, and I want the coffee shop, so I do both since I really don't have anything else to do and I am a workaholic by nature, and since I'm not raising chitlins but alternating weekends, I could do this.

Either way, I had an interview! I have another one! A coffee dude is talking to me, and I have one W2 and one on the way. Things are looking up, and I'm so happy I could hug an alpaca.

Seriously.

Er, six non-important things about me.

1. I have the same size feet I had when I was 12. In fact, I stopped growing after I hit twelve. Can't say the same for my weight, but I'm good with it.

2. I have to sleep on my left side, on the edge of the bed. If I fall asleep anywhere besides the edge of the bed, I push anyone lucky enough to be there with me off the bed in my attempt to get to the edge.

3. I used to play a game with Connor when he was in Utero....I'd poke my belly, and he'd grab my finger. Honest to gosh! It was fun.

4. I like my music loud and my piano music classical. I'm working on perfecting Moonlight Sonata.

5. I have a funny approach to guys.....if I see one that is interested in me, I will basically give him permission to approach me in some way. If I'm not interested in someone, I get very uncomfortable by advances they attempt. I don't know if that makes me bitchy or just very selective, but like I told some ass at a bar last week, 'if I want your attention, I'll let you know.'

6. I am still addicted to butterscotch and cinnamon disks.

Another installment in the chapter of 'Oh, No he DIDN'T':
I got a call yesterday from another former co-worker at that place; apparently, what I sent wasn't good enough. When I design I make a mock up, just a visual of where I am thinking of heading with a project, so the person for whom I'm making it knows what is coming. I explained that it MIGHT NOT LOOK exactly like it (because IE does not nice things with CSS), but the general layout/color scheme/content would be the same.

They, J and the Pastor for whom it was made, want me to redo it. Personally, I think this is turning into a pissing match between me and J (who was not the one who called and told me it wasn't right, btw.) The reason I deviated from the mock up was because I could not get it, once coded, to look presentable, with the elements the gentleman needed to have present.

I told Nate about it, and he says I should blow them off. I told him what I'd told J, and he said it sounds like a control thing to him. I'm thinking I should send an email and say you get that one for free, and any changes made to it will cost you $40 an hour, two hours paid upfront, billed after if it comes out to more. They know I'm not working, and I think it is just a little ass-hole-ish to expect me to give another three to five hours of free time when neither party involved intends to pay me.

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So Nate is off doing tech things for the day, and Miss Morgan and I are chilling in the crib. She's exactly like my kids...very self-sufficient, very computer savvy, and very much a six year old girl. I have some homework to finish before this afternoon, then I'm thinking she and I will give the old vacuum a whirl and just for extra kick, scrub the bathroom. Wheeeee.

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Its 80's night at a club downtown, and since the little Morgie is off to Grandmas for the evening, I think we are going to venture out and see whats happening with it. I never used to be a big fan of 80's music, but I have to admit....it grows on you. I still prefer the 'new wave' stuff to say Madonna, but even those its fun to listen to once in awhile and laugh about all the girls who used to try wearing fingerless lace gloves to school.

I like, from the 80's:
The Cure
Blondie
When in Rome (I loved the Promise long before it appeared in Napoleon Dynamite)
The Police
The Violent Femmes
The Pointer Sisters (thank my Mom for that one)
David Bowie
Billy Idol

Whom do you like?

So, yesterday I received an email from a former supervisor (we shall call him J). I have been working on a web site for a friend of one of my former co-workers, and he emailed me to find out what was up with it. The files are stored on the computer at my house (where I have not been in one week), and I informed him of this.

J knows that I have been slowly taking over....I mean moving into.....Nate's place. Rather than telling ME he needs the website delivered ASAP, he uses the Messenger Program of Micro$$oft to tell Nate to tell me he needs it sent NOW (yesterday).

I shoot J an email and tell him I'll recode it, he'll have it within a few hours. Which he did.

For the next hour, J is messaging Nate, asking him if I'm working on it, am I almost done, yadda yadda. Nate is taking master's degree courses, trying to find his own job, and is lined up for contract work through three different companies, so its not like he doesn't have his own stuff to do. But, it isn't in his nature to ignore IM's, nor be rude, so he answered all of J's questions while telling me that he wasn't comfortable doing the check up on me thing when J could just ask me himself.

When I sent the files, I mentioned to J that I did not want him using Nate like he had. Perhaps I'm a bit touchy, given my history with men, but a few things bothered me about J's actions....namely that he was checking up on me. And, that he was putting Nate in a babysitter of sorts role, which is just weird. Finally, I think it displayed a lack of not only professionalism, but also a lack of respect for me. Lest we forget as well, one of the things I truly love about Nate is that he displays absolutely no controlling tendencies, and having him be my keeper felt a little weird.

J sent me an email back, pretty much saying that wasn't what he'd done and that if they need anything else they'll let me know. I think I offended him, and frankly I don't care. If you are going to try to manipulate, control, or otherwise push me into a corner, you are going to get offended when I call your dumb ass on it.

1. The Little M's. Ok, that is cheating, but hey, I have to give my kids props where I can, right?

2. Lasagna, and all its cheesy, tomato-y goodness. I make a mean one, four layers high, ricotta AND mozzeralla cheese.

3. Linux, the operating system that works better than anything M$ dishes out, AND is free, AND has a cute little penguin as its mascot. I am a geek, and love the Unix-ness, which automatically means I love all flavors of Linux.


4. Leonardo DiCaprio. OMG. Do men get any hotter? (well, Orlando, but he doesn't start with L, does he?) And Leo's a good actor, and does social awareness stuff, and he can play a developmentally disabled young man very very well.


5. Love, as in Courtney. I know, she's a train wreck that spans more than a decade, but when she's on her game there is no stopping her.


6. Leprechauns! Stereotypical, yes, and not all that accurate a portrayal of the Irish, but come on...they're cute!


7. Limes. They are green, which is my favorite color. Lime jello is the best. Lime soda is the best. And, limes go in Corona. Those domestic beers that have 'lime flavor added'? Taste like ass.

8. Les Mis. Great story, and seeing the live play is still on my to do list. I can actually remember most of the score from choir, and every now and then I find the soundtrack on Pandora.


9. Levi Jeans. Despite having three children, they make my derrière look, well, fantastic. So I love them. Flare bottom or bootcut, none of that skinny leg crap for me.

10. Lilies. Particularly the stargazer variety. At one point I had twelve bulbs and my front yard smelled of heaven for a goodly portion of teh summer, but alas, my (rather expensive) flower bulbs were not deemed necessary to retrieve when I left the hell that was my trailer, so they bloom for the critters these days. Oh, were they gorgeous.

Here, in no particular order, and the jobs for which I applied so far this week.

English as second language tutor, via VOIP. The actual teacher position required a Bachelor's Degree, which I do not possess. I wonder if I could borrow my brother's; he isn't using it.

3 different 'administrative assistant' positions. All requiring attention to detail, experience with M$ office, and a 'helpful, friendly disposition that will be the forward face our company extends to our customers'. Yep, I can play Mary Sunshine with the best of them.

Nursery attendant. As in planting seeds and growing them for a nursery. Hey, I have two green thumbs, may as well use them, right?

Barista. At three coffee houses, independently owned. Dear God, but how I miss steaming milk and shooting shots. Of espresso. Never could get the manager to let me try out the Irish Coffee Bar thing.

Barista, at chain/franchised coffee shops. I'm not picky. I'll wear the damned visor, I just want to play with coffee again.

Photography Assistant. I'm not sure what is expected, but hey, it was on Craigslist and is for an actual business, so I gave it a shot.

Customer Service at: Sally's Beauty Supply, Office Max, Target, Meijer, a thrift shop for children's clothes.

Server at : Applebees, Papa Vino's (better than Olive Garden Italian food!), Russ' (like friendly's, Alex), Pizza Hut.

That was THIS WEEK. Same last week, at least ten different things per day. I have received none, niente, nine, zilch, zip, zero, calls back. For anything.

Its a good thing I don't have a rejection phobia anymore, or this could get depressing.

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I am slowly adjusting to life away from my bebes. I talk to them everyday, and it is good to hear them happy. Part of me still feels guilty for not being there, but I know that their Dad is enjoying it and is happy to have them around so I'm trying to let go of the Mom guilt complex. When I saw them over the weekend, they were full of hugs and were much more relaxed than I have seen them in a long, long time.

I think it helps having Morgan around. I picked her up from school yesterday, and she showed me her classroom, with its little gold fish bowls and her cubby. I watched a cartoon with her, before helping her with a homework paper. I made dinner last night, because not having any thing else to do was driving me crazy. It is the lack of a definite purpose that is bringing me down right now; sure, I have class work, but ultimately, I have to have SOMETHING for which I am caring, or else I go nuts.

I'm thinking of bringing the fishies with me, some of my houseplants as well. That will give me something to fuss over, and I refuse to let myself turn into a mother hen to either Morgan or Nate. I love them both for their independence and self sufficiency, and I'm not going to do anything to threaten that.

I will do the L thing later =0)

I have finally, FINALLY, been able to figure out that dastardly and otherwise sneaky program, Photoshop. Indeed, I believe I have its vile ways down pat, and with the help of the ever helpful 'undo' button, I have made a few graphical thingees.

This is good, very good, although I am currently working my way through PS 6. Which, is the equivalent of using, say Windows 95. I don't think it is wasted time or efforts, though, because most programs are backward compatible so once I get the CS 3 up and running (the next-to-newest version of photoshop available), I can put my basic (albeit crude) new photoshop skills to use and get that one figured out.

The biggest issue I'm having is all of the sweetest brushes were created with PS 7, or the CS packages, and will not even open. Ach, I really wanted to use the vintage postcard brushes for backgrounds, and make sweet blood spatter banners. I suppose that will have to wait. Formatting of my desktop is going to commence shortly, and after that I will finally have the super duper mamma jamma graphics making computer of my dreams......muhahaha.

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It has been an interesting four days. I've been here in GR/Wyoming since New Year's Eve. I have one gig lined up making a site in exchange for theraputic massage and chiro manipulation, and I'm working on another for a band who is giving me tickets to upcoming shows. WTF? Four years of knowing how to do this and nothing; In less than four days I have things lined up. Those are pretty much just for experience, but there are a lot of jobs down here for an inhouse designer, which is why I need a portfolio.

I'm going to harass, I mean check back with, some of the places I've applied....Biggbys, Starbucks, stores and the like . I applied for a shipping clerk at a sheltered manufacturing facility (meaning its light industrial and hires physically and mentally developmentally disabled adults). That is in Holland and while it is a good half hour drive, I would love it.

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I miss the kids, but so far I'm doing okay. I will have them this weekend, and we are going to celebrate Connor's birthday on Saturday. His birthday is tomorrow; I will call him, I call them everyday, but not see him on his birthday?! Bri keeps saying now I can understand how he's felt, but I don't think it is the same. He doesn't mean that in a mean way or anything, I guess I really didn't think he missed having them in his daily life all that much.

Morgan has stated no fewer than three times in the last five days that I am not her mom. Not mean or rude, because she adores me, more or less I think so she can keep the two of us separate in her mind and heart. Which I find somewhat comforting, honestly. If she is willing to not let anyone else replace her mother, in job or memory, then I don't have to worry about my kids. Her mom is not a big part of her life, and the energy she puts out trying to stay in touch with her mom is not reciprocated at all (she is 6). I make her dad happy and I cook good lasagna, so as far as she's concerned, I'm cool. And I'm cool with that.